COVID-19 pandemic - A focused review for clinicians

Muge Cevik, Connor Bamford, Antonia Ho

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 remains a significant issue for global health, economics and society. A wealth of data has been generated since its emergence in December 2019 and it is vital for clinicians to keep up with this data from across the world at a time of uncertainty and constantly evolving guidelines and clinical practice.

OBJECTIVES: Here we provide an update for clinicians on the recent developments about virology, diagnostics, clinical presentation, viral shedding, and treatment options for COVID-19 based on current literature.

SOURCES: We considered published peer-reviewed papers and non-peer-reviewed pre-print manuscripts on COVID19 and related aspects with an emphasis on clinical management aspects.

CONTENT: We describe the virological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and clinical course of COVID-19 with an emphasis on diagnostic challenges, duration of viral shedding, severity markers and current treatment options.

IMPLICATIONS: The key challenge in managing COVID-19 remains the patient density. However, accurate diagnoses as well as early identification and management of high-risk severe cases are important for many clinicians. For improved management of cases, there is a need to understand test probability of serology, qRT-PCR and radiological testing, and the efficacy of available treatment options that could be used in severe cases with a high risk of mortality.

Original languageEnglish
JournalClinical Microbiology and Infection
VolumeIn press
Early online date25 Apr 2020
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 25 Apr 2020

Keywords

  • Coronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • Novel coronavirus
  • SARS-CoV-2

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